


A Miracle Via Uber App

by Thats_Amore



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Angst with a Happy Ending, Christmas, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Families of Choice, Harassment, Homelessness, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Mentioned Infidelity, Minor America/Japan (Hetalia), Minor Germany/North Italy (Hetalia), Minor Hungary/Prussia (Hetalia), POV South Italy (Hetalia), Past America (Hetalia)/Original Male Character, Past Child Abandonment, Past Spamano, Slow Burn, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, past emotionally abusive relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:07:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28289658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thats_Amore/pseuds/Thats_Amore
Summary: Lorenzo hadn't been planning to take a stranger home two days before Christmas, but then his Uber customer asked to go to the nearest homeless shelter. (Or to put it more sappily: Lorenzo opens his home to Alfred, and then he opens up his heart too.)
Relationships: America/South Italy (Hetalia)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 36





	A Miracle Via Uber App

**Author's Note:**

> Alfred goes through a lot of terrible things, especially at the beginning of this story. Please note the tags.
> 
> Lorenzo was once in a relationship with an older guy who treated him poorly, and that guy was not necessarily Antonio. I do think Spain would be older than Romano in a human AU, but I don't think he would be as callous as the unnamed ex-boyfriend Lorenzo mentions near the beginning of this fic. 
> 
> Inspired by the song "Dear John" by Taylor Swift. The line "Don't you think nineteen's too young to be messed with" reminded me of America since his canon human age is 19, and the fic spun out from there.

Lorenzo pulled up to the curb in front of an apartment building and idled his car until the passenger that had booked him via the Uber app showed up. When he was driving for Uber, he couldn’t drive the way he normally would, which was as fast as humanly possible while cursing out the stronzos on the road, not if he wanted to maintain a good rating on the app. But driving people around was an easy way to make some extra cash, especially around the holiday season, so Lorenzo couldn’t hate this job too much, even if it was annoying to have to drive like somebody’s grandma.

Lorenzo spotted his passenger quickly since he was sitting on a bench right in front of the building. The guy was a tall, handsome blond with glasses, a cowlick, and the strap of a duffle bag clenched tightly in his fist. He was staring down at his feet, and he didn’t seem to have noticed that a car had pulled up right in front of him.

Lorenzo stuck his head out the window. “Hey, idiot, your Uber ride’s here.”

The guy stood up and gave him an apologetic smile as he approached the car. “Sorry. I’m kinda messed up right now.”

Lorenzo shrugged and unlocked the car so his customer could get in via the passenger’s side door. “Don’t worry about it. Name’s Lorenzo.”

“Alfred. It’s nice to meet you.” Alfred had clearly been having a shitty day, and he didn’t sound like he’d meant that pleasantry in the least. It was obviously just engrained politeness, but Lorenzo didn’t comment on it. He figured it wasn’t any of his business.

As Alfred buckled his seatbelt and set the duffle bag at his feet, Lorenzo checked his mirrors and opened up his GPS app. “So, where to, Alfred?”

“Umm… I’m not sure. The nearest homeless shelter, I guess.”

Lorenzo’s eyes widened as he looked up at his customer. “Homeless shelter?” Alfred didn’t seem like the stereotypical homeless person. His clothes looked practically brand new, and he’d asked to be picked up from an apartment building in a well-to-do neighborhood. But he was carrying a duffle bag. Maybe that duffle bag held everything he owned.

Alfred nodded, cheeks tinting pink with embarrassment. “Not the first time I’ve gotten kicked out by somebody who’s supposed to love me.”

“Your parents?” Alfred looked a few years younger than him. He was either fresh out of high school, or possibly still in it. Way too young to be homeless two days before Christmas.

Alfred nodded again, swallowing heavily to contain his tears. “And now my boyfriend. He said he loved me, and I was stupid enough to believe him. But he has a _wife_. And _kids_. I had no frickin’ idea!”

Alfred broke down, shoulders jerking up and down as he wept into his hands. Lorenzo felt a protective tug at the center of his gut, normally something he only felt towards his younger brothers or a woman getting harassed by some creepy guy out in public. Never something he had felt for one of his Uber riders before.

Before his brain could talk him out of doing something inappropriate, he leaned over the gear shift and wrapped Alfred into a hug. He let the poor bastard collapse onto his shoulder and sob for at least a full minute.

Alfred hiccupped as he pulled away. “I’m sorry. You just wanted to get paid. I’m sure the last thing you wanted is some dumbass crying all over you.”

Lorenzo grimaced. “Don’t worry about it. I didn’t mind.” And the strange thing was that he truly didn’t mind. As far as he was concerned, Alfred had been through too much tonight and could use a shoulder to cry on. And even with red eyes and snot dripping from his nose, Alfred was a beautiful man. Not that it mattered at a time like this, Lorenzo reminded himself.

Alfred wiped his nose on the sleeve of his shirt and used the hem to quickly clean his glasses before putting them back on his face. “It’s my fault anyway. I should’ve known I was whatever the male equivalent of a mistress is. John was way too old for me.”

Lorenzo’s scowled as he stared out the windshield, not taking in any of the scenery. “How old was he?” Part of him was afraid to know the answer, but another part of him felt compelled to understand exactly how bad Alfred’s breakup had been.

“Thirty.”

“And you are?”

“Nineteen.”

“Sweet Jesus.” Alfred was a legal adult, but he had been taken advantage of by someone more than a decade older than him. It was wrong morally, even if it wasn’t considered wrong legally.

Alfred sighed. “I know. Mattie tried to warn me away from him, but I was too stubborn to listen. I guess his wife was right about me. I really was just his dumb, gold digging whore.”

“Don’t say that shit about yourself. It’s not your fault you didn’t know your boyfriend was a lying piece of crap. He’s the one to blame here, not you.” Lorenzo didn’t have sympathy for the wife anymore. She might have been hurt by her husband’s infidelity, but that didn’t give her an excuse to lash out at poor Alfred like that. The only people he could feel sympathy for were Alfred and the poor guy’s kids. They were the real victims.

Alfred fidgeted with his hands guiltily. “I let John pay for stuff, but that’s not why I was with him. I’d told him how bad things were with my family, and he kept insisting. He said he wanted to _take care of me_. That’s how his wife found out, all those credit card charges that weren’t adding up.”

Lorenzo sighed. He’d been through that song and dance before, an older boyfriend who claimed he wanted to “take care” of Lorenzo, only to use him and throw him away like a paper cup after he’d gotten what he wanted. His situation had never been as dire or dramatic as Alfred’s, but he was intimately acquainted with the dark thoughts that must have been circling through Alfred’s mind at that moment.

“He paid most of the rent on my apartment,” Alfred continued, on the verge of tears once again. “I’d told him he didn’t need to, but he said it wasn’t a problem and that I deserved to live somewhere nice instead of a ‘rat-infested hellhole.’ And now I don’t have any place to live, nice or not.”

“Do you have any family you could go to? Any at all?”

Alfred shook his head. “There’s my brother, but he lives in Toronto. He was actually supposed to fly in to visit me tomorrow, but I guess there’s no point in that now. My parents are alive, but they don’t want shit to do with me anymore. Not since I stopped pretending to be straight.” He laughed weakly. “I guess it’s the homeless shelter for me, if they even have an extra bed available at this time of year. I might have to sleep under an overpass if that doesn’t work out.”

“You’re not going to sleep under a goddamn overpass tonight.” Lorenzo jabbed at his phone angrily, setting the GPS destination for home. “You’re gonna spend Christmas with me and my family.”

“That’s amazingly generous of you, but you don’t have to do that for me. I don’t want to be a burden on you or your family.”

“You’re not a fucking burden, and I’m not enough of a heartless bastard to let someone sleep out in the cold this close to Christmas.” Lorenzo had already started to drive, as he considered the matter settled. Alfred was going to stay with him until he was ready to move into his own place. Nonno’s house didn’t have a guest room, but it did have a pullout couch, and that was a lot better than the street.

Lorenzo caught a brief flash of Alfred smiling to himself as they turned the corner onto another street. “I’m not gonna be able to talk you out of this, am I?” Alfred asked.

“No chance in hell. I hope you and your brother like seafood, because that’s what we’re having for dinner tomorrow.” Lorenzo’s family had a traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner every year.

“Fine by me. Honestly, I’m glad that I’ll get to eat tomorrow.”

Lorenzo snorted. “Did you really think I’d bring you to my house just to starve you to death? How much of a moron are you?”

“Well, right now, I’m still operating on the theory that you might be a serial killer bringing me back to your secret lair,” Alfred joked.

Lorenzo rolled his eyes. “Serial killers don’t generally bring their victims home to meet their little brothers and their grandfather,” he pointed out.

“Not unless the whole family’s full of serial killers, but I think that’s just something in horror movies. I guess I have no choice but to trust you’re not gonna tie me up in your basement and cut me to pieces with a chainsaw.”

Lorenzo laughed. “Luckily for you, we don’t even have a basement. So I can’t reenact the _Saw_ movies on you.”

“Well, that’s a relief.” Alfred pretended to wipe a bead of sweat away from his forehead, and Lorenzo struggled to focus on the road. If he burst into a fit of giggles like he wanted to, they would never make it back home.

A few minutes later, they pulled up to a modest single-story home. It wasn’t on the rich side of town, but it was a comfortable place for Nonno and the three grandsons he had raised.

“We’re here.”

Alfred gazed at the Christmas lights through the windshield. “Nice place.” He reached towards his pocket. “How much do I owe you?”

Lorenzo shook his head and unbuckled his seat belt. “Don’t worry about it. You’re homeless. You need to save money, not pay for a fucking car ride.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Alfred had a discontented, vaguely guilty look on his face, but he didn’t argue and followed Lorenzo out of the car, duffel bag clutched in his fist.

Lorenzo opened the door with his key and ushered Alfred inside. He took off his hat and coat and set them on the hat rack. He would’ve told Alfred to do the same, but he wasn’t wearing a hat, coat, or even a goddamn scarf. He probably hadn’t had time to put on anything warmer before he got cast out of his own apartment.

“I’m afraid we don’t have a guest bedroom,” Lorenzo said apologetically. “You’ll have to sleep on the couch tonight, and I guess I’ll have to buy your brother an air mattress or something tomorrow.”

“Dude, seriously, it’s not a problem. I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me today.”

Before Lorenzo could tell Alfred it wasn’t such a big deal (only what any decent human being would do, though clearly Alfred had dealt with a lot of scumbags, including his own fucking parents), Lorenzo’s youngest brother Marcello suddenly appeared in the entry way. “Who is this, Enzo? Is he your boyfriend, or---”

“He’s my friend, Alfred. He’ll be staying with us for a while.” Lorenzo’s face felt unaccountably warm. Dio, his family could be embarrassing.

Alfred waved awkwardly. “Hey.”

“Ve, I never heard you mention an Alfred before.” Great, now Feliciano had showed up to embarrass him too.

“That’s because I just met him. Today. He needs a place to stay for a while.”

“I, uh, kind of lost my apartment tonight, so I need somewhere to crash for a couple days,” Alfred said. “Lorenzo said I could stay here, but I promise, I’ll try to get out of your hair as soon as I can.”

Feli gasped overdramatically. “You’re homeless?! Dio, you must be starving to death! Come in, and I’ll cut you a big slice of panettone.”

Feliciano pulled Alfred towards the living room with a grip that was surprisingly strong for his size. “I’ve only been homeless for like an hour. I’m not starving yet.” Alfred sent a baffled look over his shoulder to Lorenzo, who didn’t entirely succeed in suppressing his laughter.

“I will not be listening to any of that nonsense,” Feli said as he directed Alfred towards a seat on the couch next to Ludwig, who had apparently also decided to come visit this evening. “Wait right here.”

Ludwig watched Feliciano march off to the kitchen with a fond look on his face. He finally glanced at Alfred when Feliciano was back in the kitchen. “It’s probably best to just do what he says,” he advised Alfred, like he was letting him in on a vital secret.

Alfred nodded. “I kinda got the impression that’s how things work around here.” He sent a meaningful look towards Lorenzo, who glanced away sheepishly at the memory of how he had strong-armed Alfred into coming home with him. “My name’s Alfred, by the way.”

“I’m Ludwig, Feliciano’s boyfriend.”

As promised, Feliciano soon returned with a slice of panettone nearly twice as big as what he would normally serve. He passed it over to Alfred. “Let me know if you need anything else, Alfred.”

“This looks amazing, thank you.” Alfred made a pleased noise when he took a bite with his fork. “Tastes amazing too.”

Feliciano beamed. “I’m glad you like it so much.”

“Seriously, this place is awesome. The food, the people, everything. An hour ago, I thought my life was falling apart, but ever since I met Lorenzo, things have really turned around for me.”

“D…don’t talk with your mouth full, idiota.” Lorenzo felt warm, fidgety, and embarrassed at Alfred’s heartfelt praise. He was probably blushing again, damn it.

Alfred sent him a smile that was way too damn attractive for his own good. “Oopsy. Sorry ‘bout that.”

Lorenzo could feel Feliciano staring curiously at him, so he decided to change the subject before his brother could start prying into his business. “Where’s Nonno? I haven’t seen him since we got back.”

“He went to pick up a few things from the grocery store,” Marcello said as he walked into the room. “He should be back any minute now.”

Alfred had claimed earlier that he wasn’t starving, but he finished his extra-large slice of panettone quicker than most people could have eaten a normal one. After Feli took his plate to the kitchen (despite Alfred’s protests that he didn’t have to, really), he had gotten off the couch to admire the presepe set up in their living room.

“Dude, this thing is seriously cool. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it before. I mean, I’ve seen some stuff depicting the nativity scene before, but nothing like this. All these figurines are really detailed. It must have cost you guys a fortune.”

Marcello smiled over at him. “Lorenzo made those figurines. By hand.”

Alfred looked up at him with wonder in his dazzling blue eyes. “You _made_ this? Holy shit, you’re insanely talented.”

“Marcello’s exaggerating. Nonno helped too. It wasn’t just me.” Lorenzo wasn’t used to having someone looking at him like that, like he’d done something amazing just by existing. And he wasn’t used to having someone calling him “insanely talented” because of something he had created. Feli was usually considered the artistic one in the family.

Lorenzo had to downplay what he had done. It was getting increasingly more difficult the longer Alfred kept staring at him like that to not kiss the living daylights out of him. Which would be a spectacularly horrible idea, given the fact that he had just had his heart broken by someone else.

Alfred shrugged, still smiling at him like the oblivious, attractive moron he was. “Well, if your grandpa helped, I guess he must be insanely talented too.” He turned back to the figurines and squinted in puzzlement. “The one thing I don’t get is why there’s no baby Jesus. That’s the most important part, right?”

Lorenzo laughed. “Yeah, it is. But we only set the baby out on Christmas Eve. The rest of the nativity display is set up earlier in the month, on the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception.”

Right after Lorenzo’s explanation, he heard Nonno’s car pulling up to the driveway. Alfred straightened up with a nervous look on his face, and Lorenzo instinctually stepped closer to him.

Nonno was cheerful as he greeted Feli by the door, before he walked out of the house to help Nonno unload the car. He offered warm greetings to Ludwig and Marcello, then he paused in surprise when he saw Lorenzo standing next to someone unfamiliar.

“Who’s your friend, Lorenzo? I don’t think I’ve met him before.”

Alfred walked towards Nonno with his hand extended for a handshake. “My name’s Alfred, sir. I’m pleased to meet you.”

“Sir, huh?” He raised his eyebrows and smirked at Lorenzo as he accepted the handshake. “He’s got good manners. I like him a lot more than the last man you brought home to meet the family.”

Lorenzo facepalmed. Cristo, his little brothers could be embarrassing, but even combined, they had nothing on his grandfather.

“It’s not like that, Nonno,” Lorenzo growled out. “Alfred’s just a friend.”

He could practically hear his grandfather giving him a skeptical look. “You sure about that, nipote?”

Lorenzo peeled his hand away from his face. “I’m sure. But I do need to talk to you about something important. Alone.” He glanced at Alfred to convey the message that he needed to tell his grandfather why Alfred was really there.

Alfred nodded stiffly. “I need to call Mattie and tell him about what’s going on anyway.” He looked towards Lorenzo’s grandfather. “It was nice to meet you, Mr. uhhh…”

“Vargas. Julius Vargas.”

Alfred nodded. “I’ll go call my brother now.” He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and approached Ludwig, probably to ask him where he could speak to his brother in private. Lorenzo and his grandfather headed off towards the kitchen to put away the groceries.

“So, I’m guessing you don’t know this Alfred boy too well if he had to be told our last name.”

“No. I just met him today. He was one of my Uber riders.” Lorenzo explained Alfred’s situation in more detail than he had explained to his brothers, and Nonno was sympathetic to his plight.

“That poor boy, to be deceived in such a cruel way. And after his family had already cast him out for such an unfair reason.”

Lorenzo nodded. “You see why I had to bring him home. I couldn’t just drop him off at a homeless shelter… it would be inhumane. Like letting a stray kitten just suffer out in the cold without its mother.”

Nonno squeezed his shoulder. “You have a good heart, piccolino. Right now, I think that’s exactly what your friend Alfred needs. In the future, perhaps…” He trailed off suggestively, and Lorenzo narrowed his eyes.

“No. It is the completely wrong time for you to be thinking whatever the hell is going through your head right now, old man.”

Nonno gave him a cheeky grin. “But it’s going through your head too, isn’t it? I may be old, but I’m not blind, you know.”

Lorenzo could feel his face flaming scarlet, and his grandfather chuckled warmly, indicating that he had seen Lorenzo blushing too. Lorenzo sighed. “I think we should just focus on putting away the groceries.”

“Alright, I’ll quit teasing you. And don’t worry, it’ll be our little secret.” His nonno gave him a conspiratorial wink, and Lorenzo rolled his eyes. He knew Nonno would probably mention it to Marcello and Feliciano, but hopefully he could avoid spreading the “secret” to Alfred.

When Lorenzo and Nonno returned to the living room after putting away the groceries, Alfred was still in another room speaking to his brother. A couple minutes later, he entered the living room and handed his cell phone over to Lorenzo.

“It’s Mattie,” Alfred whispered. “He said he wanted to talk to you.”

Lorenzo nodded and took the cell phone. “Hello. This is Lorenzo.”

“Hi, this is Matthew, Alfred’s brother. I just wanted to thank you for giving Al a safe place to stay until he can get back on his feet.”

“Of course.” He glanced up at Alfred. “I’m just trying to do the right thing. It’s the time of year most people try to be a little more charitable, you know?”

Matthew laughed hollowly. “It's that time of year for everyone except our goddamn parents. They treated Al like dirt, and that left him vulnerable to creeps like John.”

Lorenzo grimaced. “Yeah, he mentioned some things about them.”

“Whatever he told you probably wasn’t even half the picture. Al’s always seen the best in people, including the people who least deserve it.”

Lorenzo didn’t reply to that. He agreed with Alfred’s brother, but he couldn’t say that Alfred seemed a bit naïve, not with Alfred standing right in front of him. He wouldn’t mean it as an insult, but Alfred could assume he did.

Matthew let out a long sigh. He sounded exhausted and worried. “Right now, Alfred thinks you’re the greatest thing since sliced bread. For all I know, you might be everything he thinks you are. But when he first met John, he talked about him the same way, so forgive me for being a little skeptical.”

“He’s your brother. It’s no wonder you’d feel that way.” Lorenzo bristled a little at the implied accusation, but he couldn’t blame Matthew. He wouldn’t trust some guy he’d never met with Feliciano or Marcello either.

“Al is vulnerable right now, probably a lot more vulnerable than he lets on. If you have some kind of ulterior motive and aren’t just letting him into your house out of the kindness of your own heart, that’s not something I will take lightly. If you take advantage of his vulnerable state, there will be hell to pay, I can promise you that.” Matthew’s voice was calm and soft-spoken, but he was deadly serious, and Lorenzo felt a bit intimidated by him, even over the phone.

“I didn’t… I didn’t bring him home to hurt him. I brought him home because he’d _been_ hurt, and he had no place else to go.” Alfred rolled his eyes and mouthed the word “overprotective,” and Lorenzo cracked a smile.

“That’s good. Now, onto other things. We should probably discuss where I’m going to stay tomorrow.” Matthew explained that when he had planned to visit his brother, he had naturally expected to stay at his apartment rather than at a hotel. He had enough money for a couple nights at a hotel, but it would strain his budget to use a hotel for the entire week he had planned to visit Alfred. Lorenzo explained that they didn’t have a guest room but offered to pick up an air mattress for Matthew the next day, and Matthew agreed to stay at his house for the visit as long as he wouldn’t be too much of a burden on Lorenzo and his family. Lorenzo reassured Matthew that he wouldn’t be a burden, and they ended the conversation so Matthew could finish packing for the next several days.

“That sounds like it went okay,” Alfred said as he took his cell phone back from Lorenzo.

“It was fine. Your brother just wanted to look out for you, that’s all.” Lorenzo considered that a good thing. Alfred needed a family member to care about him.

“He’ll probably chill out once he gets a chance to meet you in person. Then he’ll see you’re a good person, not John 2.0.”

“I hope so.” He was eight years younger than John, and he truly didn’t have designs on Alfred, no matter what his brothers or his grandfather might insinuate.

After a late dinner (which Alfred vocally enjoyed), Alfred was ready to sack out for the evening. Lorenzo led him to the hall bathroom so he could take a shower, and he rushed to set up the sofa bed with extra blankets and pillows.

When Alfred returned with damp hair, without glasses, and in Captain America pajamas and fuzzy socks, Lorenzo blushed about as badly as he did when his grandfather teased him in the kitchen earlier. Luckily, there was only a single lamp on in the living room, and everyone else had already headed off to bed (or home, in Ludwig’s case).

“I hope this is okay,” Lorenzo said. “It’s not the same thing as a real bed, but I tried to make it as comfortable as possible.”

“It looks perfect. Considering where I thought I might be sleeping tonight, it’s practically a suite at the Ritz-Carlton.” Alfred yawned as he sat down on his bed, and Lorenzo decided to give him some space.

“I’ll wake you up tomorrow morning in time for breakfast. And in the afternoon, I’ll drive you to the airport to pick up your brother.”

“Okay, good night, Lore.”

“Buona notte, Alfredo.” Alfred giggled softly at the new nickname as Lorenzo turned off the last lamp in the living room before heading off to get ready for bed himself.

That night, Lorenzo felt a little stir crazy. His mind kept tossing and turning over everything that happened since he drove over to that apartment complex to pick up Alfred, and it took him a while to settle down. Eventually, exhaustion won out, and he managed to get a few hours of sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Alfred woke up before Lorenzo did. By the time Lorenzo stumbled towards the kitchen for the cappuccino he needed to function, Alfred was already chatting with Feli in the kitchen and had a cappuccino of his own.

Alfred noticed Lorenzo entering the kitchen and waved at him cheerfully. “Good morning!”

Lorenzo grunted something that vaguely resembled the word “morning” before he headed to the coffee machine. Alfred laughed. “I’m guessing you’re not a morning person?” he asked with a teasing note in his voice.

“Lorenzo’s always sleepy when he wakes up, just like me,” Feliciano explained. “Everyone in the family’s like that, pretty much. Luddy and his brother are the only people I know who are as perky as you in the morning.”

“I don’t usually have this much energy in the morning either. It must be whatever magic stuff you put in this coffee.”

Lorenzo rolled his eyes as he pulled a cup down from the cabinet. “Actual decent coffee beans?” he suggested sarcastically.

Alfred was laughing brightly again, and it made Lorenzo feel this warm, bizarre thrumming in his chest. It must have been gratitude that Alfred seemed happier today. It certainly couldn’t have been anything else.

“Well, whatever it is, it’s pretty magical.” Alfred paused to take a sip of his coffee. “But you guys need to watch out, ‘cause if you keep giving me delicious food, I’ll never want to leave.”

“That was the plan,” Lorenzo said dryly. “Kidnap you and keep you prisoner with Italian food.” He’d meant it as a joke, and Feliciano and Alfred took it as such, but there was a part of Lorenzo, tiny but insistent that really wouldn’t have minded having Alfred living in his house _forever._ Lorenzo told that part of himself to shut the fuck up as he finished making his cappuccino and joined them at the table.

Nonno and Marcello got up a few minutes after Lorenzo did, and Nonno prepared a light breakfast for everyone. Before anyone could even take a bite, Alfred’s cell phone rang from the living room, but he made no move to get up and answer it.

“It’s John’s ring tone,” Alfred muttered, scowling down at the tablecloth. “I probably shouldn’t answer him, right?”

“Definitely not,” Nonno said. “Just eat your breakfast and pretend he didn’t call you.”

Alfred nodded and let the cell phone go to voicemail. He ate, but he was a lot less chatty than he had been before the phone call. He was acting subdued like he had been when Lorenzo picked him up outside that apartment building the night before. Lorenzo wanted to bust this John bastard’s kneecaps for putting that look on Alfred’s face.

Marcello tried to start a conversation about something that happened at school to make the mood at the table less awkward, but his attempt didn’t work, not even when Feli hesitantly responded to his story. A couple minutes after the first phone call, Alfred’s phone rang again, and once again, Alfred ignored the call. When the bastard called a third time, Lorenzo was officially fed up.

“It’s time to put that asshole in his place,” he muttered, pushing his chair back to stand. He stomped towards the living room, and he could hear Alfred getting up out of his seat to follow him.

Lorenzo picked Alfred’s cell phone up from where it was buzzing on the coffee table and jabbed at the green phone button to answer the call. “Stop calling, shithead. Alfred doesn’t want to talk to you, so leave him the fuck alone.”

The voice on the other end of the line scoffed. “Who the hell are you?”

“I’m Lorenzo. I’m the goddamned Uber driver who gave Alfred a place to sleep last night after you kicked him out of his own apartment.”

“I didn’t _kick_ him out of his apartment. Carrie got pissed when she found out I was paying rent on an apartment we weren't living in and came over to confront me about it, and Alfred ran away.”

“Is that version of the story supposed to make you sound any better? Because it really doesn’t. You’re still the fuckhead who cheated on his wife and lied to a teenager who didn’t deserve to be dragged into the middle of your marriage problems.”

“You don’t understand. It’s not that simple. If you just let me talk to Alfred, I could explain—”

“Explain what, asshole?! What explanation could possibly make what you did to Alfred okay? To your wife, or the children you should have thought about _once_ before you cheated on their mother? You’re nothing but a stupid, selfish testa di cazzo who only cares about himself!” Lorenzo couldn’t use both hands like he needed to when he ranted like this, but the one holding the cell phone was squeezing with a death grip he would’ve used on John’s neck if they had been in the same room.

“Listen, buddy, I don’t know what your problem is—”

“I’m not your buddy! I’m the guy who had to hold Alfred when he was crying in my car yesterday! Because you destroyed his trust and shattered his faith after _promising_ you’d take care of him! You knew he had no place else to go, but you still took advantage of him and didn’t even care enough to call until this morning! He could’ve been dead under a bridge because of your shitty actions!”

Lorenzo heard Alfred sniffling in the background and turned to give him an apologetic glance. He hadn’t meant to go off on John like that, but the guy had pissed him off worse than anyone else ever had. He’d try to comfort Alfred as soon as this conversation was over.

“You’re being overdramatic,” John said. Lorenzo scowled at the condescending tone and turned to face away from Alfred. “I’m sure Alfred told you some immature sob story yesterday, but he needs to learn to grow up instead of turning everything into a catastrophe.”

“You’re the one who needs to grow up,” Lorenzo snarled. “You’re thirty, but my baby brother who’s still in high school is far more mature than you could ever dream of being. Leave Alfred the fuck alone, and let him move on from your sorry, pathetic ass. If you call him again, I won’t be half as nice as I was this time.”

Lorenzo hung up before the bastard could say anything else and switched the phone to silent before he set it back down on the coffee table. “Sorry about that. Your piece of shit ex wouldn’t stop making excuses for himself, and I kind of lost it on him.”

“It wasn’t that. I’m glad you stood up for me. But you were right about everything. He never cared about me, not even enough to make sure I wasn’t dead last night. I was just a piece of ass to him. God, I feel so stupid! Why didn’t I ever see it before?!” Alfred was tearing up, and Lorenzo wrapped him up in a protective embrace. Alfred clung to him tightly, trembling as he struggled not to fall apart.

Lorenzo closed his eyes and pressed his face into Alfred’s shoulder. “He’s the stupid one for hurting you like this. You deserve so much better than that stronzo.” He hadn’t even known Alfred for a full day, but Lorenzo could already tell that Alfred was a good person who deserved all the love in the world.

“I’m trying to believe you,” Alfred said. “It’s hard to believe I deserve better after what he put me through. And after what my parents did, before I even met him. That kind of stuff really gets into your head, you know?”

“Yeah, it does.” Lorenzo pulled away and gave Alfred a strained smile. “Let’s go finish breakfast, okay? Then we can figure out how to change your phone number so you never have to hear from that shithead again.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

When they returned to the kitchen, Lorenzo’s family exchanged significant looks. “You really went off on Alfred’s ex,” Feliciano said. “I don’t think he’ll be calling back anytime soon.”

Alfred shook his head. “He’s a stubborn moron, so I wouldn’t count on that. But hopefully, I won’t have to deal with him anymore.”

After breakfast, Lorenzo took Alfred to the cell phone store where he was able to change his cell phone number for a small fee, which Lorenzo took care of for him. Lorenzo purchased an air mattress for Matthew, and they barely had enough time to stop back at the house to drop the mattress off before they had to head out to the airport to pick up Matthew.

On the way to the airport, Alfred was fussing with his cell phone. He sent the new contact information to his brother and his boss at the independent bookstore he worked for as a sales associate. After sending a message to his boss, he sighed and glanced out the window.

Lorenzo didn’t take his eyes off the road, but he was concerned. “Something wrong?”

“I’ll probably need to quit my job. John knows where I work. We actually met there, when he was trying to find something in the classic literature section.”

“You think he’s psycho enough to stalk you where you work?”

“After yesterday, I don’t know what to think. But you saw what happened before I got my phone number changed. He was still trying to call and text me, even after you’d chewed him out. If he’s that persistent, there’s a good chance he might try to bother me in person.”

Lorenzo’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “Yeah, that’s true.” The last thing Alfred needed to deal with was his emotionally abusive ex deciding to come bother him at work.

“It sucks, because Arthur was a pretty nice boss, and that was as good a job as I’ll probably be able to get with my qualifications. But I can’t deal with John showing up to talk to me in person, and Arthur doesn’t deserve to have his store invaded by some asshole who won’t leave me alone. I’ve already blocked him everywhere on social media, but I don’t need to be anywhere John can find me.”

“If Arthur is as nice as you say, I’m sure he’ll give you a good recommendation. You’ll find another job soon, and until then, you can stay with me.”

Alfred sighed. “I’ll let him know after Christmas.”

The rest of their drive continued in a moody silence, but Alfred perked up again once they entered the airport and was practically bouncing up and down by the time they arrived at the gate. Alfred scanned the area eagerly for his brother once the passengers started to come out, and suddenly darted towards a guy that looked nearly identical to him, but with curlier, longer hair and a white maple leaf printed on his red sweatshirt.

“Mattie! You’re here!” Alfred practically tackled his brother in the middle of the airport. A few people shot the pair weird looks as they left the waiting area. Matthew, who was obviously used to this kind of exuberant greeting, chuckled and patted Alfred on the back.

“Oof. You’re getting stronger than Kuma. Maybe lay off the hamburgers, eh?”

Alfred snorted. “It’s been mostly Italian food the past couple of days. How have you been, Mattie?”

Matthew shrugged. “Can’t complain. I’m just glad to see you in one piece.” He ruffled Alfred’s hair and grinned as Alfred squawked and tried to straighten it back to normal. His devious smile turned to something friendly but cautious as he glanced at Lorenzo. “You must be Lorenzo.”

He nodded. “It’s good to finally meet you. I’ll get your luggage.” He bent down to collect Matthew’s wheeled suitcase, which had been knocked aside when Alfred rushed forward to hug his brother.

“Thanks,” Matthew said. “That’s really considerate of you.”

“Now you see what I was talking about,” Alfred gloated. “I told you he was the coolest guy I’ve ever met.”

Lorenzo started walking away, trying to ignore the annoying butterflies in his stomach. It was too goddamn cold for butterflies anyway. “I’m not always nice,” he muttered. “Only to the people who deserve it.”

“Yeah, you were really badass when you were telling John off earlier,” Alfred recalled, following Lorenzo with Matthew walking right beside him. “If I was him after that phone call, I would’ve been pissing my pants in fear.”

“John called you? What did that shit stain have to say for himself?”

Lorenzo summarized what John had said, omitting the most hurtful comments for Alfred’s benefit. Alfred gleefully recounted how viciously Lorenzo had told John off, quoting bits of the colorful swearing Lorenzo had used.

By the time Lorenzo was hefting the heavy suitcase into the trunk, Matthew was giving him an appreciative look. “Sounds like you did a thorough job scaring that asshole. After all that, I’m surprised he kept calling.”

Lorenzo huffed angrily. “John’s such a numbskull I doubt anything I said could’ve made a difference.”

“He’ll probably get bored once he finds someone new to cheat on his wife with,” Alfred said. “He’s only being stubborn because I grew enough of a spine to leave him. But I don’t think he valued me enough as a person to miss me in particular. He only misses not having a little chew toy to play with.”

Matthew frowned deeply and squeezed Alfred’s shoulder before he got in the backseat. “I hate that I was right about him, Al. I really, really wish I had been wrong.”

Alfred mumbled out the words “me too,” and Lorenzo could do nothing but send Alfred a worried look as he entered the car. Right before he started to drive off, he gave Alfred a shaky smile, and Alfred managed to mirror the expression. He was obviously plastering on a phony smile, but it was better than seeing Alfred cry again. Anything was better than that.

Luckily, Matthew was good at distracting his brother. He mentioned bumping into a former high school classmate of theirs a couple months ago, and Alfred took the bait and began asking his brother a series of increasingly detailed questions. Lorenzo’s attention drifted in and out of the conversation, but he was focused on other things. He wanted so badly to make Alfred smile, and genuinely this time. He never wanted to see him sad again. Lorenzo silently worried about the intensity of his concern, especially since he had only met Alfred the previous day. He was getting far too attached far too quickly. Lorenzo also wanted to get Alfred something for Christmas, but he had no idea what he might need or want. He knew if he asked, Alfred would say he “didn’t need” a Christmas present, so Lorenzo figured he would have to surprise him with something.

Lorenzo was still pondering Alfred’s potential Christmas present by the time they returned to the house. After enlisting Marcello to help set up the air mattress for Matthew to use later, Lorenzo left, telling everyone that he was going to get in a couple of quick Uber rides before dinner and Mass later that evening. But in actuality, he went to the mall, hoping to find inspiration there.

The mall on Christmas Eve was an absolute madhouse. People rushed past him in a frenzy, getting those small last-minute items off their Christmas shopping lists, and Lorenzo wandered around the department store slowly, trying to see if he could find something he wanted to buy Alfred.

He was walking through the men’s clothing section when suddenly he remembered that Alfred hadn’t been wearing a coat when he arrived at the house yesterday. A winter coat could make a nice, practical gift for Alfred.

After some browsing, Lorenzo found a coat he deemed acceptable. It would provide a decent level of warmth without being too bulky, and the camel color would flatter Alfred’s hair and skin tone. It also happened to be 50 percent off, which meant Lorenzo could afford it even after he’d bought Christmas presents for his family and a few close friends.

The cashier raised her eyebrows when he came up to the counter. “Got so busy you had to shop at the last minute, huh?”

“Something like that.” He wasn’t planning to tell the cashier he was buying a Christmas present for someone he had only met the previous day.

The cashier placed the coat in a garment bag to protect it, and the garment bag was placed in a larger store bag. “Have a nice day. Happy Holidays.”

“Same to you.” He offered her a polite smile but cursed under his breath when he checked his watch and saw the time. He was cutting it really close.

Luckily, Alfred was chatting with his Nonno in the kitchen when Lorenzo returned home. He was able to quickly and quietly stash the coat away in his bedroom before Alfred even knew he had arrived at the house.

* * *

Christmas Eve was a pleasant and enjoyable evening. Alfred clearly felt more relaxed with his brother there, and Matthew was polite and got along well with everyone just as easily as Alfred had. The Vargas family Christmas Eve celebrations were clearly unfamiliar to Matthew and Alfred, who were neither Catholic nor Italian, but it felt natural to include them. It might have been overly sappy, but Lorenzo felt like they were meant to be there all along.

On Christmas morning, Ludwig came over, along with his brother Gilbert and his sister-in-law Erszébet. Everyone was eager to open presents, but they knew it would be awkward since Alfred and Matthew would only be receiving presents from each other (or so everyone assumed).

“Sorry about the present situation, boys,” Nonno said. “We certainly weren’t meaning to exclude you, but we didn’t have time to get you anything so close to Christmas.”

“Don’t worry about it, eh?” Matthew said. “Al and I are just happy to be here.”

Alfred laughed. “Yeah, I mean you guys opened up your home to us. We’d be kinda greedy if we expected anything more on top of that.”

Lorenzo coughed and jiggled his foot nervously. “I, um, kinda did get Alfred something yesterday, after Matthew got here. I wasn’t actually driving anyone around for Uber. I lied.”

Lorenzo could feel everyone staring at him in shock. Feliciano was the first person to speak, and he did so while shaking Lorenzo’s arm insistently. “Fratello! Why didn’t you put it under the tree?!”

“I didn’t have time to wrap it, idiota! I barely managed to get it into the house without him seeing what it was!”

“Well, it’s Christmas morning, so can I please have my present now? I don’t care if it’s wrapped.” Alfred was giving him puppy dog eyes, which made those stupid butterflies flap around in his stomach (didn’t those things know it was winter, damn it?!).

“Fine. I’ll be back in a sec.” Lorenzo stood up and scurried off to his room like a thief in the night.

He returned, and he took a deep, shuddery breath before he passed the department store bag over to Alfred. “I… I tried my best, okay? But I only met you a couple days ago, so if my present sucks, that’s why.”

“Dude, relax. I’m sure it’s gonna be awesome.” Alfred was smiling at him, probably to reassure him, but it didn’t calm Lorenzo’s nerves one bit. He felt just as queasy as he did when he gave a crappy homemade Valentine’s Day card to Maria Gallo, the first person he’d ever had a serious crush on. He was eight years old at the time.

Lorenzo stood in front of Alfred as he pulled out the garment bag, wringing his hands. “I… uh, remembered when I first brought you home a couple days ago that I put my coat up by the door, but you didn’t have to, because you weren’t wearing one even though it was really cold that day. And I thought maybe you didn’t have a coat, and I mean, everyone needs a coat unless they live in some place like Hawaii, right? I don’t want you freezing to death out there.” He tittered anxiously, unable to make himself shut up and stop being such a fucking mess.

Alfred smiled down at his coat and ran his hand down the front of it. “That was really thoughtful of you. I did need a new coat, and the one you picked out looks really nice.” He looked up at Lorenzo, and his eyes were actually wet with thankful tears. “Thank you, Lorenzo. It means a lot that you would do this for me.”

“You’re welcome.” Lorenzo felt like collapsing in relief and sinking through the floor in embarrassment at the same time. “You should probably go ahead and try it on to make sure it fits. I had to guess, since I didn’t know what clothing size you took beforehand.”

Alfred tried on the coat, did a theatrical twirl, and hugged hims. “It fits perfect.” Alfred suddenly hugged him, and Lorenzo’s face was squashed against the quilted polyester fabric of Alfred’s new coat. “Thank you so much,” he whispered. “This might be the best Christmas present I’ve ever gotten. I wish I had something to give you too.”

“Maybe next year you can get me something.” He hoped Alfred would still be around next year. He hadn’t known him very long, but it was already difficult to imagine Christmas without him.

“I will,” Alfred promised. He squeezed Lorenzo tightly before pulling away, and it took a moment for Lorenzo to adjust. He was no longer in a warm, strangely intimate embrace that made Lorenzo forget a world existed outside of him and Alfred.

“That was a nice thing you did,” Matthew murmured, as Lorenzo took a seat near him on an empty ottoman. Lorenzo’s gaze was fixed on Feliciano, who was heading towards the tree to get packages for everyone to start opening.

“Alfred deserves nice things,” Lorenzo replied quietly. He didn’t have time to say anything else before Feliciano was skipping towards him with a package from Nonno.

Matthew made a noise of agreement, and he didn’t ask why Lorenzo had gone out of his way to get a last-minute gift for Alfred but hadn’t done the same for him. He seemed to understand why, even if Lorenzo had a difficult time admitting it to himself, much less anyone else.

* * *

The week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve was relatively uneventful. Alfred called his boss the day after Christmas to ask for two weeks’ notice, which Arthur granted. John showed up a couple days later during a time Alfred hadn’t been scheduled to work, and he had belligerently demanded to see Alfred. He refused to leave until Arthur threatened to call the police on him. After this unfortunate incident, Arthur called Alfred to report what had happened. Alfred explained why he needed to quit his job in more detail, and Arthur agreed to let Alfred quit without the standard two weeks’ notice.

While Alfred was dealing with that situation, Matthew had contacted his employer in Toronto. He had been willing to take a job in Canada due to repeated reassurances from Alfred that he would be just fine living on his own, but after recent events, Matthew decided he wanted to live closer to his brother. His company agreed to transfer him to their local branch, but that transfer would not occur until February. He had to finish up some things in Toronto first.

As they waited for the ball to drop on television, the Vargas family and their guests shared their New Year’s resolutions. Alfred’s resolution was to get a new job and enough financial stability that he wouldn’t have to “mooch” off of anyone, including Lorenzo and his family.

Lorenzo gave him an irritated glare. “You’re not fucking mooching. You’re just having a tough time right now, that’s all.”

Alfred shrugged sheepishly. “All I know is that I need to be more independent. It’s not fair to expect other people to take care of me forever. If I’d been more independent, John wouldn’t have been able to take advantage of me the way he did.”

Alfred had a point, but it wasn’t a point Lorenzo wanted to acknowledge. Acknowledging that point would’ve meant acknowledging that Alfred would have to leave eventually, which wasn’t something Lorenzo wanted to deal with. He liked being around Alfred and seeing him every single day. A miniscule, selfish part of him never wanted to give that up.

When Marcello asked him what his resolution was, Lorenzo said that he hadn’t thought of anything this year, which was technically true. But as midnight approached, the couples got all snuggly with each other, and Lorenzo felt ridiculous. Gil was with Erzsi, Feli was with Ludwig, and even Marcello was with the girlfriend he’d started dating a few weeks ago. Hopefully, next year Lorenzo would have someone to kiss at midnight instead of being the perpetual third wheel, even among his own family.

For his part, Alfred seemed unbothered by the fact he had no one to kiss at midnight. He didn’t mention John, and he didn’t seem to be thinking of him at all as he loudly chanted out the countdown to the new year. When the TV station started playing “Auld Lang Syne” and the couples in the house exchanged midnight kisses, Alfred whooped and blew a noise maker. He did get giggly and start clinging to Lorenzo once he’d finished a couple glasses of prosecco, but that was probably because he wasn’t much of a drinker and therefore hadn’t developed a tolerance to alcohol.

Eventually, Alfred dozed off against Lorenzo’s shoulder, clinging so tightly to his arm that he trapped Lorenzo on the couch with him. Matthew had to pry Alfred away, and he made a whiny noise but didn’t bother to open his eyes.

“No,” Alfred protested childishly. “Like cuddling Enzo. He’s warm. Like a human teddy bear.”

Lorenzo held a fist to his mouth to suppress a fit of giggles as Matthew rolled his eyes and guided his brother to lie down on the couch. “You can cuddle him to your heart’s content tomorrow. For now, you need to let him sleep.”

“Fine.” He yawned and rubbed his face against a pillow. “Sleepy time.” He was completely conked out seconds later, and Lorenzo left for his bedroom after bidding good night to Matthew.

The next day, Alfred shot Lorenzo a few furtive, embarrassed looks, but he didn’t mention anything he’d said the night before. Lorenzo chalked his comments and his cuddling up to a bout of drunken silliness, and he ignored the twinge of disappointment that had no reason to be there.

* * *

Matthew flew back to Toronto on New Year’s Day, and Alfred sent out job applications for every conceivable position he thought he might be qualified for. He got a job that would start work by the third week of February. Matthew was scheduled to returned to town in the middle of that month, and he convinced Alfred that it would be a good idea to get an apartment together. With their combined salaries, they should be able to afford a decent two-bedroom, and an apartment building just a few blocks away from Lorenzo’s place had an unoccupied apartment that would fit their needs. It wasn’t as nice as the place Alfred used to live, but it wasn’t the rat-infested hellhole John had said Alfred would be doomed to without his money either.

When Alfred was talking to his brother over Facetime, he emphasized the fact that he didn’t want to be “mooching” off his brother for too long either.

“Al, I know you felt like crap when John’s wife called you a gold digger, but you aren’t one. There’s nothing wrong with being supported by your own family, but that wasn’t even what I was suggesting. I was thinking you could contribute to the rent, at least a little.”

Lorenzo overheard part of their conversation. He knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but he was curious and stayed at the edge of the living room to avoid being spotted.

Matthew talked about both of them possibly applying to university. The way their parents had abandoned Alfred, and then Matthew when he stuck up for his twin, had derailed their earlier long-term goals. But earlier, they had wanted to go to university, and they had the determination and intelligence to do well anywhere they were admitted. The only thing they needed to figure out was student loans and how to support themselves for four years and still have time for an education.

“I know you said you wanted to be independent, but I was hoping we could figure this stuff out together. You’re my brother, and I love you.”

Alfred relented. “You’re right, Mattie. I guess I better start packing.”

By the end of February, all of the pieces had fallen into place. Alfred had a new job at Target, which paid just as much as he had earned at Arthur’s bookstore. Matthew had his new job in town, and their lease on an affordable two-bedroom started the next day. It was time for Alfred to move in with his brother.

Alfred didn’t have much to pack, just the same duffle bag he’d brought with him. Matthew’s Christmas present, a Batman comic book, was carefully tucked inside. It was still cold outside, so he was wearing Lorenzo’s Christmas present as they stood on the front porch.

“You can come back here any time, okay? If you need anything, call me. Even if it’s just an Uber ride.”

Alfred smiled at him. “I’m only moving a few minutes away. It’s not like we’ll never see each other. We can hang out at my apartment in a couple days after me and Mattie finish setting everything up.”

“I know that. I guess… I’m just gonna miss you, bastard. Even if you are way too hyper for me before I’ve had at least two cups of coffee.”

“I’ll miss you too, Lorenzo. I’ve really enjoyed living with you and your family for the past couple of months.”

Lorenzo glanced past Alfred’s shoulder at Matthew, who was waiting patiently in his car for them to finish saying goodbye to each other. They pretty much had, but their farewell wouldn’t feel complete without some kind of a physical gesture.

Lorenzo put his arms around Alfred’s waist and tucked his burning face into his shoulder. Alfred reciprocated the hug immediately, but Lorenzo still felt awkward about the whole thing. “Don’t be a stranger, okay?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.”

Before Alfred left, Lorenzo leaned up to give him the Italian goodbye gesture of kissing both cheeks. It wasn’t common in America, but it was in Italy, and they were close enough that hopefully it wouldn’t seem too strange. “Take care of yourself, Alfredo.”

Alfred licked his lips. “Yeah, you too.” His eyes had widened behind his glasses, and his voice had come out raspier than usual. It took every ounce of self-control for Lorenzo to not launch himself at the idiot.

“Al, you ready yet?” Matthew called. The tension between them fizzled instantly.

Alfred cleared his throat and turned his head to respond to his brother. “Yeah, sorry about that.” He glanced at Lorenzo one last time as he was getting into Matthew’s car. “I’ll text you later.”

Lorenzo nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. “Sure thing.”

He watched Matthew and Alfred drive away for a couple of seconds before he decided staring at the back of a gray sedan was too pathetic, even for him. He got back into the house, and he reminded himself that this really wasn’t as dramatic as his mind wanted to make it seem.

* * *

Over the next couple of months, Lorenzo gradually adjusted to not living with Alfred. They still saw each other at least a couple times a week, and they texted and chatted online every day, but it wasn’t the same. He missed waking up to Alfred attempting to figure out the espresso machine on his own and getting an overly exuberant hug when he returned home from work in the evenings.

He was not moping, no matter what Feliciano said. And he was not _pining_ , as his nonno kept insisting. Lorenzo missed his friend a perfectly normal amount, thank you very much.

Lorenzo was fine, mostly, until his denial imploded one evening in April. He was hanging out with Alfred and Matthew at their apartment when Matthew suddenly asked whatever had happened with some guy named Kiku.

Alfred shrugged. “Didn’t work out. I had a nice enough time, but I didn’t feel much romantic chemistry with him. He felt the same way, so we’re probably not gonna go out again.”

Matthew accepted this answer calmly, but Lorenzo couldn’t. “You… you went out on a date?”

“Yeah, about a week ago. I didn’t mention it because I didn’t know if it would turn into anything. Turns out it didn’t.”

One measly date that didn’t turn into a relationship shouldn’t have made Lorenzo feel like an 18-wheeler had just backed over him. He wasn’t sure how he was even breathing at that point, but he managed to ask another question without his voice cracking too horribly.

“Where did you meet him?”

“He’s one of my co-workers.” Alfred misinterpreted the horrified look on Lorenzo’s face and added some more details. “Don’t worry, Kiku’s a little older than me, but he’s your age, not John’s. I learned my lesson there.” He started thumbing through his comic book again like nothing had happened.

Lorenzo was able to maintain the mask of normalcy around Alfred for another hour, but when he got home for dinner, he told his family he was too sick to eat. He called in sick for work the next day, and he didn’t answer his phone or look at anything on social media.

Lorenzo knew he couldn’t hide from the world forever, but he called in sick a second day too. Feliciano confronted him in the middle of the afternoon, while he was sitting on the couch in sweatpants watching awful daytime television and eating gelato straight from the carton.

Feliciano grabbed the remote from the coffee table and turned off the television. Lorenzo didn’t respond to this, but he protested when Feliciano took the gelato away from him, spoon and all.

“What the fuck, Feliciano?!”

“I’m not letting you do this to yourself,” Feliciano said. His voice was clipped, and he clearly wouldn’t accept any arguments. “You’re acting worse than when you broke up with Antonio.”

Lorenzo trailed behind his brother as he went to the kitchen. “It’s nowhere near that bad.”

Feliciano didn’t say anything as he put the remaining gelato back in the freezer, and he stuck the spoon in the dishwasher to be cleaned later. Lorenzo leaned against the counter and waited for the inevitable lecture.

Feliciano turned to him with a worried look on his face. “Fratello, I don’t know what happened between you and Alfred, but you need to talk to him about it. He just called me, scared that he had done something to offend you! He said you haven’t been answering your phone for two days straight!” His hands were flying all over the place, even more so than usual. Feliciano was clearly agitated.

Lorenzo felt like he was about to puke from guilt. “He didn’t do anything wrong. It’s my fault. I’m a stupid, selfish asshole who doesn't know what the hell to say to him.”

Feliciano put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “What happened? You can tell me.”

Lorenzo was shaking like a leaf. “He… he went on a date. And that’s good, it’s good that he’s moving on from his shitty ex and is ready to start going on dates with other guys. It’s good that he’ll find someone who’s gonna respect him and treat him right. I should feel happy for him, but I don’t know how.”

“Because you’re in love with him.”

“I didn’t say that,” Lorenzo mumbled feebly.

“You didn’t have to. It’s been obvious from the moment you brought him home. You _never_ bring people home, especially to share the holidays with us. And I’ve never seen you get so angry as you did when John wouldn’t stop calling him on Christmas Eve.”

“I barely knew him back then. It wouldn’t make sense for me to have been in love with him all this time.”

“But you were, right? At least a little.”

Lorenzo recalled how he’d felt once Alfred started sobbing in his car. He’d felt protective of Alfred from the very beginning, and he had noticed how beautiful he was even when he had snot dripping from his nose and was crying over another man. It was completely bonkers, but maybe he had fallen in love with Alfred that quickly and easily.

Lorenzo nodded hesitantly, and Feliciano smiled at him. “I think you need to tell Alfred how you feel.”

“I can’t. He’s finally happy with the way his life is right now. Telling him would just ruin that.”

“Or it might make him even happier.”

Lorenzo scowled. “He’s just been through a traumatic breakup, idiota. He might not be ready for a relationship right now.”

“If he wasn’t at least open to the possibility, he wouldn’t be going on dates, now would he?”

Lorenzo didn’t have a counter-argument for that. He rolled his eyes but permitted his little brother to pat him on the head condescendingly like a dog. “Feel better, fratello. And call Alfred to let him know you aren’t mad at him.”

“I’m gonna get dressed first.” Lorenzo had no excuse to spend all day in sweatpants. He wasn’t dying of the flu, even if he had pretended like he was to avoid Alfred and his nosy family.

“That’s a good idea too.” Feliciano left the kitchen in his normally ebullient mood, and Lorenzo stalked off to go clean himself up.

When he knew Alfred’s shift was over, Lorenzo called him and told him to quit being such a dumbass. He lied about having a bad case of stomach flu, and he only felt a small pinch of guilt. He was being honest when he told Alfred that he hadn’t been able to answer the phone but wasn’t angry at him for whatever paranoid reasons he may have imagined.

Alfred let out a relieved sigh. “I’m glad you’re not mad at me. Sucks that you’re sick, though. Do you need me to drop by with some soup? I can’t cook to save my life, but Mattie could probably fix you something.”

“That’s not necessary. I’m already starting to feel better. I’ll probably be back to normal by tomorrow.”

“You should get plenty of rest tonight. I don’t want you to get worse because you pushed yourself too hard. I care about you a lot more than you realize.”

Lorenzo felt oddly comforted by the concerned sound of Alfred’s voice. He felt like he’d just been wrapped up in a blanket fresh from the dryer even though he was sitting up and Alfred was in another building.

“I care a lot about you too.” _Understatement of the year_.

They said goodbye, and Lorenzo hung up the phone even though he’d left so many other things unsaid. He knew he’d have to say them sooner rather than later, but he wasn’t sure how.

* * *

Two days later, Lorenzo still didn’t know what he planned to say when he saw Alfred in person. But he was standing at the counter of a florist purchasing a dozen long-stemmed red roses nonetheless. The cashier handed him the flowers with a happy “have a nice day,” and it was too damn late to change his mind. He would show up at Alfred’s apartment door unannounced, give him the flowers, and find the words somehow.

This was all Feliciano’s fault. Feli was an incorrigible gossip who couldn’t keep his big mouth shut, so of course he told Marcello and Nonno why Lorenzo had been feigning an illness for two days in a row. Lorenzo quickly caved under the pressure of three persistent family members pestering him to confess his love to Alfred before it was too late.

Lorenzo’s first instinct, before his family persuaded him, had been to stuff his feelings down as far inside as they could go. He couldn’t be a self-pitying sad sack couch potato for the rest of his life, but that didn’t mean he had to make himself vulnerable. It didn’t mean he had to throw himself on Alfred’s mercy, offering something Alfred most likely wouldn’t even want.

Deep down inside, Lorenzo knew that buying the flowers and driving to Alfred’s apartment building was his decision, and his alone. But if this ended badly, he would blame it all on Feliciano.

His palms were slick with sweat on the steering wheel of his car. Lorenzo’s heart was in his throat as he parked and got out of the car, and his emotions were so jumbled that he nearly dropped his bouquet as he entered the building. This was more nerve-wracking than anything he’d experienced with Maria, Antonio, or anyone else he’d been involved with. This was _Alfred_ , and whatever happened today would fundamentally alter the course of his life. Lorenzo could only hope he wasn’t making a colossal mistake.

He pressed the elevator button to go up, and a few seconds later, he got on with a woman and a preteen boy. The steel doors closed in front of them, and Lorenzo had never felt claustrophobic before, but he sure as hell did now.

“What the fuck am I doing?” Lorenzo asked himself. “This is a horrible idea. I should probably turn around and go home while I still have the chance.”

The preteen boy gave Lorenzo a weird look, probably because he was talking to himself in public. The woman, who was probably his mother judging by her age and how close they were standing together, tutted something under her breath about inappropriate language, which was fucking stupid since her kid had probably heard a lot worse by now from adults or kids his own age. Lorenzo didn’t want to make himself look more mentally imbalanced than he already had, so he clamped his mouth shut and pressed the button for Alfred’s floor before he could change his mind.

Several painful seconds later, the elevator doors opened and Lorenzo was able to escape. He walked on autopilot towards Alfred’s door and knocked three times in quick succession.

“Hold on a sec, I’ll be right there!” Alfred shouted from inside. The music that had been playing was quickly shut off, and Lorenzo’s senses were so acute that he could hear Alfred’s footsteps as they got closer to the door.

The door was flung open, and Alfred was there. He tilted his head and grinned like the overgrown human Golden Retriever he was. “Lorenzo, what are you doing here? I wasn’t expecting you to drop by.”

Lorenzo didn’t have the composure to form complete sentences. He thrust the bouquet at Alfred’s chest. “Flowers,” he gasped. “For you.”

“Wow, really? You didn’t have to go to all this trouble.” Alfred accepted the roses, and Lorenzo ducked inside when he brought them up to his nose. Alfred closed the front door and turned to face Lorenzo as he paced in a tight circle around the futon. “I didn’t miss an anniversary, did I? Valentine’s Day was two months ago, but I wouldn’t expect you to get me anything for Valentine’s Day either.”

“Can you please stop joking?! This isn’t a fucking joke! I feel like I’m losing my goddamned mind here!” He didn’t mean to lash out at Alfred, but he was seconds away from a panic attack. He couldn’t breathe, and his vision was blurry with tears. Lorenzo was good at charming men or women when it didn’t mean anything, but he always turned into a basket case whenever he had to admit feeling something beyond simple lust. He felt more for Alfred than he’d ever felt for anyone, and that terrified him.

Alfred placed the bouquet on a side table and walked closer to him. “Hey, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to make fun of you. I’d like to know what’s going on, because you’ve been acting weird for almost a week now, but you don’t have to tell me. I like the flowers, even if I don’t know why you gave them to me.”

Lorenzo choked on something between a laugh and a sob. “How the hell are you so perfect? You’re the only person on planet Earth who’s too oblivious to understand what it means when someone shows up at your door with a dozen red roses.”

“Being oblivious is a good thing now?” Alfred sounded confused and hopeful, but Lorenzo lacked the courage to look anywhere but that random empty spot on the wall over his left shoulder, so he couldn’t see what Alfred’s facial expression was doing.

“It is. Because it means I get to explain myself to you, and no one else has ever been patient enough to let me to explain something like you have. No one else gets so excited about hugging people that they knock the wind out of them, and no one else is as fun to be around in the morning, even when he is being hyper before I’ve had any caffeine. No one else has ever made me feel as valued as you do, just for being myself.”

“You deserve to feel valued,” Alfred said. “You’re a really special person, Lorenzo, and I’m glad to have you in my life.”

“I’m glad to have you in my life too. And I… I love you. I didn’t mean to fall in love with you, but I did. Starting from that first minute you were in my car, when you were the most beautiful person I’d ever seen, even after you’d been sobbing over some asshole you were way too good for and had snot dripping from your nose.”

“You love me?! Really? Even after I’ve been ugly-crying?!” Alfred was a lot closer now, and his smile was radiating pure sunshine. Lorenzo was going to go blind from it.

“You heard me. I love you, dumbass.”

Alfred giggled. “I love you too. I’m pretty sure that’s why it didn’t work when I went on that date with Kiku. He’s a nice guy, but I couldn’t stop thinking about you, so…”

“You were that infatuated with me?”

“I think I was waiting for you, but it took me a while to realize it. I was afraid to be with anyone after what John put me through, but you make me feel safer than I ever have. I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with you either, but I’m really glad I did.” Alfred tilted his head even closer, close enough that his breath was ghosting over Lorenzo’s lips. “This means I can kiss you now, right?”

Lorenzo’s eyes were already fluttering shut of their own accord. “Yeah.”

Alfred surged forward to connect their lips, and Lorenzo gasped into his mouth. He flung his arms around Alfred’s neck to hold onto him and in a clumsy attempt to stay upright.

When Alfred pulled away, his face was flushed, his glasses were askew, and he was panting like he’d just run a mile. “I think we need to go to the couch. That was so intense I almost lost my balance and dragged you down with me.”

“The couch sounds like an excellent idea, tesoro.”

Alfred growled playfully as he dragged Lorenzo towards the futon and pulled Lorenzo on top of him. “Fuck, you sound so hot speaking Italian. You have no idea what that does to me.”

Lorenzo smirked and ran his fingers through Alfred’s golden blond hair. “Why don’t you show me, amore?”

Unfortunately, Alfred didn’t have much time to show Lorenzo before Matthew arrived at the apartment. They were both too distracted to hear his key in the door, but they heard his shouts of surprise.

“Whoa! Sorry! I’ll pretend I saw nothing and come back later!”

They sprang apart, and Alfred pulled his shirt back on and grabbed his glasses from where he had tossed them on the coffee table. Lorenzo fixed the few shirt buttons Alfred had undone and attempted to fix his hair before concluding it was pointless to try. He was grateful that Matthew hadn’t walked in on them in a more compromising position, but he wished they hadn’t been interrupted at all.

“It’s safe, Mattie," Alfred said. "You can open your eyes now.”

Matthew pulled his hand away from his eyes and gave them an awkward, but sincere smile. “So, when did this start?”

“Today,” Alfred announced proudly, wrapping an arm around Lorenzo’s waist and resting his chin on top of Lorenzo’s head. “He came over and brought me _roses_. He told me _loved_ me.”

Lorenzo blushed. “I do love you.”

Alfred let out a happy squeal and kissed Lorenzo’s temple. “See?! Isn’t he the most adorable person in the world?”

“I’m happy for you, Al. It took you hosers long enough. I’ve been waiting for you to figure this out for the past four months.”

Lorenzo frowned in puzzlement. “You knew for four months?” Even _he_ hadn’t known for four months.

“Christmas, for you,” Matthew explained. “You were really obvious when you got him that coat. And Al was clinging to you so much on New Year’s Eve, more than I’ve ever seen him cling to John or anyone else.”

Lorenzo grinned when he realized Alfred was clinging to him in a similar way now. And this time, he didn’t have alcohol as an excuse.

He shifted so he could see Alfred’s face. “I guess I really am a human teddy bear, huh?”

Alfred seemed a little embarrassed at the memory, but he was still smiling. “You can be, if you want,” he said.

Lorenzo sighed contently and leaned into Alfred’s embrace. “Don’t worry, caro. I want.”

* * *

Before Lorenzo left that evening, he and Alfred had a private conversation in which they further clarified the status of their relationship. Lorenzo wanted them to be boyfriends, but only when Alfred was ready for that. He didn’t want to pressure Alfred in any way, particularly when he knew Alfred would never want to be as pressured or dependent as he’d felt in his previous relationship.

“Babe, I already know that I love you and that I feel safe when I’m with you. The fact that you’re so concerned about not pressuring me, rather than just deciding how things are, makes you a million times better than John ever was. I won’t need a lot of time to feel comfortable calling you my boyfriend, but it would probably make sense for us to go on a date first.”

Lorenzo chuckled. “Yeah, it would be kind of silly for us to call each other boyfriends before we even started dating.”

They made plans to go on a date that Saturday, and the date went exceedingly well. Alfred and Lorenzo had enjoyed spending time together before as friends, and being honest about their romantic feelings only made their interactions feel more natural. The next day, Alfred immediately and repeatedly began telling everyone that Lorenzo was his boyfriend. He was obnoxiously loud about it in typical Alfred fashion, but instead of feeling embarrassed, Lorenzo was flattered that Alfred was so giddy about being with him.

Alfred and Matthew looked into their financial situation, and they decided they would be able to afford college if they went to a university with relatively reasonable tuition costs and received financial aid. It was too late to apply for next fall, but they submitted applications to a local university for the spring semester, and they were both admitted with financial aid packages. Lorenzo was proud of Alfred for taking this new step forward in his life, and he made that abundantly clear to his boyfriend.

After his first semester at school, Alfred and Lorenzo decided that they were ready to move into their own apartment together. By that point, they had been dating for a little more than a year, and John was a distant memory Alfred was glad to have put behind him. Alfred trusted Lorenzo, and, more importantly, he had learned how to trust himself.

During their second Christmas together, Lorenzo’s present for Alfred had been under his Nonno’s Christmas tree with all of the others, unlike the first Christmas when he hadn’t had time to wrap up the coat. The third Christmas, they were back at Nonno’s place, where all of the family gathered even though Lorenzo had moved out to live with Alfred and Feliciano had moved out to live with Ludwig. Some traditions would never change, and a big Christmas with his family was one of them.

Lorenzo had bought a present for Alfred that he had placed under the tree, and when Alfred had opened it, he had thanked Lorenzo effusively and smothered his face in kisses until Matthew affectionately called him a hoser and handed over his unopened gift. But he had another present for Alfred, a present only Nonno knew about because he’d given Lorenzo a loan that helped him pay for it. Nonno had also agreed to help Lorenzo by keeping Alfred’s present at his house until Lorenzo was ready to give it to him.

While Ludwig was cleaning the wrapping paper off the floor (along with Feliciano, who he had cajoled into helping him), Lorenzo told Alfred that he had another Christmas present for him. But it wasn’t a present he could give to him in front of everyone else, so they would have to go to another room.

Gilbert snickered and shook his head at Lorenzo in fake disapproval. “Dude, if you’re gonna give him _that_ , don’t you think you could wait until you guys are back at your own apartment?”

Erzsébet lightly hit her husband’s shoulder. “Gil! Quit making everything sound perverted!”

Gilbert pouted and rubbed his shoulder like Erzsi had actually hurt him, which wasn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility. Erzsébet was unusually strong. “Aww, liebling, don’t be mad. You gotta admit, you were thinking it too.”

Before they could hear Erzsébet’s reply, Lorenzo had gripped Alfred’s hand and pulled him out of the room, muttering about perverted albino bastards ruining everything. What he was about to do was scary enough, and the last thing he needed was Gilbert’s ill-timed and crude attempts at humor.

He led Alfred into his old bedroom and shut the door behind them. “I try to be romantic _one time_ , and that jackass has to ruin it.”

“Sneaking away to have sex would’ve been totally romantic. But it’s probably a bad idea to do it in a house with so many people, considering how loud I can get when you’re with me.” Alfred wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, and Lorenzo groaned in exasperation.

“I am _not_ giving you sex as a Christmas present, idiota.” They might have sex later, but it wouldn’t be as part of a Christmas present. And it would be in their own apartment, away from family members who really didn’t need to know just how loud Alfred could get.

“I know, I know. So, what is my secret Christmas present?”

“Sit down, and I’ll get it for you.”

Alfred sat down at the edge of the bed, and Lorenzo turned away from him to open his top dresser drawer. At the back, his fingers curled around a small box. He took a deep breath to steel his nerves, then swiveled around to face Alfred and dropped down to one knee.

“Lorenzo, are you—”

Lorenzo had squeezed his eyes shut. “Please, just wait until I’m finished. I have a whole speech prepared, and I’m so nervous I might throw up if you interrupt me again.”

Alfred chuckled softly. “Alright. I don’t want you getting sick.”

Lorenzo took another deep breath and started in on the speech he had mentally prepared. “Alfred, I met you two years ago at one of the lowest points of your life. You thought I was generous for inviting a stranger to stay at my home for Christmas, but you were the one who gave me the greatest gift of all. You brought so much joy to my life, first as my friend, and then as my boyfriend. And now, I’m here, holding this ring, asking you if you will be my husband.”

Lorenzo forced himself to open his eyes so he could make eye contact with the love of his life. “I know that people you should’ve been able to trust have hurt you in the past. I know that they made promises, only to break them later. I’m not promising you the moon and stars, and I’m not promising that I can make life perfect or easy for you. But I promise, I will love you until my dying day. I promise, if you give me the chance, I will do everything within my power to make you feel as loved as you have made me feel for the last two years.”

Tears were falling unchecked down Alfred’s face, and he was grinning with more elation than Lorenzo had ever seen (which, given Alfred’s usual demeanor around him, was saying a lot). Lorenzo only took his eyes off him for half a second to open the ring box and show him the platinum band inside.

“Alfredo, amato mio, will you marry me?”

Alfred’s head jerked up and down rapidly. “Yes, yes, oh my God, yes!” He hauled Lorenzo up off the ground to kiss him soundly, and the ring box fell out of Lorenzo’s hand.

Lorenzo pulled away to pick up the ring. “You were so enthusiastic you made me drop the ring, idiota.”

“Sorry.” But the blinding grin on his face showed that he wasn’t sorry at all.

Alfred was vibrating in excitement, but he kept his hand still enough for Lorenzo to slide the platinum band on his left ring finger. They kissed again, and Alfred stared at his hand and sighed blissfully.

“This is officially the best Christmas ever.”

“Wanna go announce it to everyone?”

“Oh, honey, you know me so well.” Alfred dashed out of the room, holding Lorenzo’s hand, and babbled out his excitement about being engaged, about the most romantic proposal speech ever given, and how lucky he was. Lorenzo let Alfred do most of the talking, but he had a goofy smile on his face and felt like he was glowing under the light of Alfred’s love.

Their friends and family congratulated them and mobbed them with hugs. Later that night, after they had returned home to their own apartment and were snuggling under the covers, Alfred expressed his joy in a quieter way than he had right after he’d been proposed to.

“I still can’t believe it. We’re fiancés. _Fiancés._ ”

“I know, caro. It feels surreal to me too.”

Alfred paused, and in the stillness, Lorenzo listened to his heartbeat. He was so lulled by the familiar rhythm that he was almost asleep when Alfred spoke again.

“When you were proposing, and you brought up the thing about people who broke promises to me, I thought about John. It was strange. I hadn’t thought of him in so long, and that whole relationship feels like a lifetime ago. Anyways, I remember what he said to me, near the beginning. How he promised to take care of me, but never really did.”

Alfred didn’t sound particularly sad as he talked about John’s broken promise, but Lorenzo sighed for him anyway. “I know.”

“This might sound kind of weird, but I’m glad that you’ve never promised me something like that. The way he said it implied I was _incapable_ of taking care of myself and wasn’t his equal. He promised to take care of me, but he would’ve laughed in my face if I said I wanted to take care of him too.”

Lorenzo was hoping Alfred would get to the point sometime soon. This sounded important, but he was exhausted, and he wanted to be awake enough to remember what Alfred had said.

“With you, it’s different. It’s different because it’s equal, it’s reciprocal, and it’s honest. We can promise to try to take care of each other, at least in an emotional way, and it’s something we can do forever. And that makes me really, really happy.”

“It makes me really happy too.” Lorenzo yawned and pressed a kiss against Alfred’s sternum. “Buona notte, fidanzato.”

“Good night, my gorgeous fiancé. Looking forward to waking up with you tomorrow.”

Lorenzo drifted off to sleep with a soft smile on his lips, and he was looking forward to waking up with Alfred too.


End file.
